Five-year-old Leland Voorhees of St. Clair lets water pour into his mouth as he stands under the mushroom fountain at the St. Clair Spray Park late last week. The spray park at Evergreen Park has been a busy place in recent days because of the summerlike 90-degree temperatures that have settled in the area.

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St. Clair Spray Park to Remain Open After Holiday

Five-year-old Leland Voorhees of St. Clair lets water pour into his mouth as he stands under the mushroom fountain at the St. Clair Spray Park late last week. The spray park at Evergreen Park has been a busy place in recent days because of the summerlike 90-degree temperatures that have settled in the area.

St. Clair Parks and Recreation Board members decided on Monday night to keep the city’s spray park open past Labor Day.

Because of the hot, summerlike weather the area has been experiencing and that is predicted to continue, and because of the popularity of the facility, board members agreed it would be good to allow the water park to remain operative as long as the warmer weather lasts.

“It’s been a big hit,” park board President Linda Luetje-Nelson said during Monday’s meeting. “When it’s been hot, the place has been packed.”

Luetje-Nelson said she frequently visits the park with her two sons.

This past weekend, when temperatures reached the 90s, dozens of individuals visited and used the spray facility located in Evergreen Park.

Originally, the spray pad was scheduled to be open through Monday, Sept. 2, which is Labor Day. Signs on the restroom facility there state that.

“I think as long as it stays hot, we can keep it open,” City Administrator Rick Childers said during Monday’s park board meeting.

Park board members agreed the facility should remain open at least for a couple of additional weeks. After that, it can be assessed on a weekly basis on whether to keep it open or close it for the season.

Hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The board agreed that the latest the park will stay open will be the end of September, when it then will be winterized.

First Year

Franklin County’s first spray park opened in St. Clair as scheduled just before Memorial Day in May.

Last December, St. Clair’s board of aldermen approved the $290,000 price tag for Westport Pools to construct the splash pad on the former site of the community pool in Evergreen Park on Park Drive. The community swimming pool was removed last year after being used for about 50 years.